Means for casting pottery and like articles



B. I. ALLEN.

MEANS FOR CASTING POTTERY AND LIKE ARTICLES.

APPLICATION FILED AUG-25, I919.

Patented Nov. 29, 1921.

BERNARD JAMES ALLEN, 0]! BLYTHE BRIDGE, ENGLAND.

HEANS FOR CASTING POTTERY AND LIKE ARTICLES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 29, 1921.

Application filed August 25, 1919. Serial No. 319,527.

To all'whomitmay concern.

Be it known that I, BERNARD JAMES ALLEN, a subject of the King of Great Britain, residin at Llangladure, Blythe Bridge, Staffords lire, England, have invented new and useful Improvements in Means for Casting Pottery and like Articles (for which a plication for atent has been filed in reat Britain on t e 6th of Feb., 1919, No. 2,950,) of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to means for casting pottery and like articles. In Patent No. 1,336,180 issued Apr. 6, 1920, a method is described for casting pottery by the use of vacuum. In the patented method, semisolid substances such as clay slip is introduced into a porous mold arranged in a vacuum chamber. By continually maintaining a vacuum in said chamber thesolid portion of the slip mixture is caused to gradually build up on the wall of the mold until a pot of the desired thickness is ob tained. The present invention, therefore, pertains more particularly to an improved apparatus for practising the patented process. The object of the inventlon is to provide means whereby a vacuum chamber can be adapted to take molds of different sizes.

To this end according to the invention I adapt to the outside of the mold a framework of wood, metal or other suitable material, the said framework being of a size such that the mold, when fitted therewith, can be introduced into the vacuum chamber, say by being slid into place upon runners provided for the urpose, the chamber being hermetically c osed by means of a cover plate or door when the mold is thus introduced.

To enable the invention to be fully understood, I will describe it by reference to the accompanying drawing, in which Figure 1 is a sectional side view of one construction of vacuum casting appliance, having the improvements applied thereto.

Fig. 2 is a sectional plan view of the apparatus, and

Fig. 3 is a sectional front view thereof.

a indicates the vacuum chamber, which, in the construction illustrated, is designed to receive several series of molds arranged in a number of superposed horizontal rows. The said vacuum chamber a is furnished with a number of openings 1) at the front, corresponding to the number of molds which it is to receive, and each of these openings is designed 'to be hermetically closed by means of a door or cover 0 detachably secured in position by means of the bolts (1. e is the fitting in connection with a source of vacuum, not shown in the drawing, by means of which the air in the interior of the chamber a can be evacuated.

indicates the molds. trated each mold is designed for the casting of fourteen insulators, but, as will be understood both the number and the article are given by way of example only. 9 indicates the framework with which the outside of each of the molds is provided, h being runners which project upon the under side of each of the said molds, and are designed to slide upon the rolled steel angle girders i which function as uides.

indicates the lling pipes for the slip into the molds.

m designates the hollow cores of porous pottery, which are arranged in the molds. The interiors of these cores are in communication with the exterior of the molds by means of conduits n. By this construction, the interiors of the cores are in communication with the vacuum chamber a.

In operation, the slip is passed through the funnel is, fills the lower row of molds, then rises and fills the up er row of molds, and finally rises in the nt pipe to the same head as the funnel. excess of slip beyond that contained in the funnel and pipe. The pipes is are in position and full of slip when air is being exhausted from the box or chamber a. The whole of the mold is under vacuum during molding,

As will be understood, considerable economy is effected in practice by the invention, as a single vacuum chamber, such as a, can be used in connection with molds of different sizes,which renders possible a. commercial manufacture of small quantities of different types of articles, since it is not necessary to incur the expense of providing a special vacuum jacket for each article as has hitherto been necessary when casting pottery by the process described in the aforesaid former specifications.

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is 1. The combination with a vacuum cham-v In' the case illus- There is no her having internal tracks, of a porous mold located "entirely within the chamber and movably mounted on said tracks.

2. The combination with a vacuum chamber of a porous mold composed of two sections detachably secured together, a plurality of similarly shaped recesses arranged in said mold, hollow cores of porous pottery adapted to fit in said recesses, means for connecting the interiors of said cores with said vacuum chamber and means for supplying slip to the recesses.

3; The combination with'a vacuum chamberof a porous mold composed of two sections detachably secured together a plurality of hollow cores adapted to it in the mold, means for supplyin slip to said mold and means permittlng t e' sliding of the mold in and out of said vacuum chamber."

4. Apparatus for casting potter and like articles, comprising a vacuum-c amber, a frame adapted to slide in said chamber, a mold reinforced by said frame, said mold being provided with two series of recesses, one

above the other, means com rising a funnel and a bent pipe for filling t e recesses with slip hollow porous cores adapted to fit in said recesses and conduits for connecting the interior of the cores with the vacuum chamber.

BERNARD JAMES ALLEN. 

